June 05, 2011

More Richard news

Lots of Brad Richards talk out there on Sunday. First, Richards tweeted late on Saturday a thanks to Stars fans and a message that he wouldn't be tweeting for a while. ``Thanks to all the fans in Dallas for 3 great years. Will miss everyone... Gonna take a rest from twitter For a bit.... Chat soon'' Then, Larry Brooks of the New York Post had a story in which he said he believes Richards will be seeking a contract in excess of $7 million a season and that might be too much for the Rangers. Here's Brooks: ``The Rangers have heard through the grapevine that Brad Richards will be seeking a long-term contract worth a minimum of $7 million per when the free-agent market opens on July 1, and they've heard it more than once and they've heard it from more than one source. This means that, a) general manager Glen Sather will not be sending an asset to Dallas for the right to try and convince the 31-year-old center to sign before he hits the market; and, b) the Blueshirts already are pondering a Plan B to bring a first-line pivot to Broadway. We're told by well-placed sources Richards has no intention of signing for a discount in order to reunite with coach John Tortorella, with whom he won the Cup with Tampa Bay in 2004. That's fine. If five years at $6.5 million per -- that's the number -- doesn't represent enough green to get Richards into a Blueshirt, then that's that. The Toronto Star is reporting that Richards has been asked to waive his no-trade clause and has declined: Here is their report:``But Richards will not waive his no-trade clause in order to allow the Stars to move him. Rather than let a single club have exclusive negotiating right:s with him, he will hit the open market as a 31-year-old elite centre with a Conn Smythe Trophy to his credit.“We’ve been asked by Dallas to (waive the no-trade). We’ve analyzed it and, to date, we’re not in the position to give any clearance on a trade,” said Richards’ agent Pat Morris on Saturday. “In all likelihood, as we go through the remainder of June, we will not be doing so. It isn’t likely that Brad’s mind will change.”That's pretty much what was expected, so we'll see what happens with Richards on July 1, it appears.